Politics & Government
Sudbury Selectmen Impressed After Review of Health Care Savings
Town's transition to GIC key in savings.
The Sudbury Board of Selectmen heard an update on health care savings stemming from insurance reforms that took effect on July 1 at its Tuesday night meeting at .
The savings in Fiscal Year 2013 amount to $1,812,621 for the town and $147,646 for employees for a total of savings of $1,960,267, according to Assistant Town Manager/Human Resources Director Maryanne Bilodeau.
"To save almost $2 million dollars on health care is certainly significant," said Selectman John Drobinski, after Bilodeau's presentation, which included enrollment figures for active and retired town employees in the taxpayer-funded health care plan.
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Sudbury's transition was made possible by new state laws that allow towns to opt out of health insurance plans determined by collective bargaining and instead participate in the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission, which aims to save communities money in an era of rapidly-rising health care costs.
Bilodeau said the town offered mitigation payments for individuals who were covered under the town's insurance as of July 1, 2012. Those payments involved checks of $400 for Medicare-eligible retirees and $1,280 for Active Employees and Non-Medicare Eligible retirees. Those who do not participate in the town's insurance plan for other reasons, such as coverage through a spouse's plan, are not eligible for mitigation payments, she said. In FY13, the percentage of active employees who declined health care coverage from the town stood at 11.1 percent.
Find out what's happening in Sudburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Costs for family coverage for town employees averaged $1,463.98 per month for a PPO - Tufts Navigator plan and $1,277.70 for a HMO - Harvard Pilgrim Plan. For FY13, 50.9 percent chose an HMO plan, while 38 percent enrolled in a PPO, and the rest opted out. That compares with 94.6 percent in an HMO and 4.6 percent in a PPO in the previous fiscal year.
The Selectmen voted to adopt the GIC system in November. Information sessions were held for employees before the changes became effective on July 1, 2012.
